Compare and Contrast Karwacki and King

The Shape of the Comparison: Two Very Different Records in Rideau Rockcliffe Ward XIII

Rideau-Rockcliffe voters have a straightforward choice on the ballot this October: incumbent Rawlson King, seeking a third term, against challenger Peter Karwacki, running for a third time. Both records span three decades. What’s worth looking at isn’t just the length of each record, but its shape — because the shape tells you what kind of judgment each candidate brings to council.

Dimension	Rawlson King	Peter Karwacki
Overall shape	A single political track upward Linear progression through communications, civic boards, and council.	Broad, technical, executive, repeatedly tested Wide base of operational leadership, deep technical work, independent advocacy, and multiple challenges for the same seat.
Education	Journalism and law at Carleton; master’s in communication.	B.Sc. (Biology) and post-graduate diploma in Business Administration from Lakehead University.
Core professional career	20+ years in communications and high-tech market research Steady climb through community-association presidency, resource-centre board, gallery presidency	15 years as hospital CEO / Administrator and financial director in Northern Ontario — full responsibility for budgets, boards, hiring/firing, strategic planning, policy, and public relations 13 years at Cognos and IBM (no stint): database, programming, financial OLAP models, business-intelligence applications, and sample projects for customers and education programs Federal project-management roles (Health Canada, CBSA, Export Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada) Independent consulting practice built around benchmarking and performance measurement; Managing Director, PeerMetrics
Council / elected experience	Six years on Ottawa City Council: committee member → committee chair → Deputy Mayor. Seeking third term.	Elected school-board trustee (early 1980s). Ran for this exact Ward 13 seat in the 2019 by-election, 2022 general election, and now 2026 — without incumbency advantage.
Independent / civic leadership beyond institutions	Primarily board and association roles that feed into institutional standing.	River preservation leadership: founding / past president of Les Amis de la rivière Kipawa; past president of Whitewater Ontario Technical papers on cumulative effects of dam projects; judicial and advocacy efforts to protect navigability (Laniel Dam) and free-flowing reaches against diversion schemes Long-term defense of whitewater habitat and public access
Primary working instinct	Communications and consensus-building: “How do we explain this decision, and who needs to be brought on side?”	Executive accountability + technical measurement + structural protection: “What does the data actually say? Does the report hold up to independent verification before the money moves? Are we protecting the underlying asset — budget line or free-flowing river — for the long term?”
Orientation toward institutions	Builds relationships and institutional standing; rewarded with increasing formal responsibility.	Audits performance, benchmarks against peers, and has repeatedly tested the same seat from outside incumbency. Certified PMP and trained data analyst.

Why the shape matters more than the length

Both candidates have put in the years. The question for voters isn’t who has “more experience” — it’s which kind of experience you want sitting across the table when a $400-million infrastructure report or a transit oversight question lands on the council agenda.

Ward 13 has had the first kind of instinct on council for six years. Whether it wants to add the second kind — hospital-CEO-level operational accountability, multi-year technical analytics at Cognos/IBM, project-management discipline, benchmarking, and proven willingness to defend structural integrity (including rivers) when it is inconvenient — is what’s actually on the ballot in October.

Peter Karwacki is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and trained data analyst running for Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe) on a platform of structural accountability, open data, and infrastructure oversight — with a stated one-term commitment.